Rally in Final Inning Prevents Sweep of Iowa Wesleyan
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–The William Penn baseball team was two outs away from a big doubleheader sweep against Iowa Wesleyan Wednesday night, but the Tigers were in a denying mood as the teams clashed in Midwest Collegiate Conference play.
The Statesmen (15-22, 8-9 MCC) won the opener 2-1, but fell 5-1 in the nightcap.
Daniel Wehr (Sr., Sigourney, Sigourney HS) was the first player to touch home plate, doing so in the third on an RBI single by Nathan Wood (Jr., Tucson, Ariz., Arizona Western CC).
The advantage was doubled in the next frame when pinchrunner Julio Riojas (Jr., Hampton, Ill., Carl Sandburg CC) scored on a balk by Iowa Wesleyan pitcher Joseph Neilson. The Tigers fell to 17-29 (10-10 MCC) after the twinbill, remaining percentage points ahead of the navy and gold for fifth place in the league.
The visitors finally broke through against Jorge Quezada (Jr., San Ysidro, Calif., Castle Park HS) in the seventh, but a big double play (started by Quezada) took the tying run off the pads and William Penn survived.
The pitching battle saw the Statesmen hold a nominal 6-5 edge in hits. Quezada (6-4) struck out seven (one walk) in the win.
The hosts made the first tally in game two as well with Stanley Muller (Sr., Tucson, Ariz., Cochise CC) coming around on a first-inning single by Randall Packard (Sr., Forestville, Calif., Cal State-Monterey).
That was unfortunately all she wrote for the Statesmen offense, which lost the hits battle 13-8. William Penn played with fire throughout the nightcap, but still managed to carry that 1-0 lead into the seventh.
That is where the proverbial wheels came off, though, as the Tigers blasted shot after shot against starter Brad McGuire (Jr., Covina, Calif., Citrus CC) and reliever Jayme Mueller (Jr., Mundelein, Ill., College of Lake County CC) to plate five runs.
McGuire (0-3) scattered ten hits in the loss (two Ks, one BB).
Packard was perfect at the dish, finishing 3-for-3, while Muller was 2-for-3.
Next: William Penn travels to Cedar Rapids this weekend to face Mount Mercy in a three-game MCC series. The teams meet for a doubleheader Saturday and then face off Sunday in a single, nine-inning game. Action begins at 1 p.m. both days.
